`Harvey Milk` Documents A Great American Tradegy

Movie review, 3 1/2 stars

March 8, 1985|By Candice Russell, Film Writer

Imagine if there were never such a man as Harvey Milk, the outspoken homosexual politician in San Francisco. Imagine if he hadn`t brought diverse minorities together in a coalition championing the rights of individuals. Imagine if he had never been murdered right in City Hall by his arch enemy, a homophobic fireman-turned-politician.

Were Al Pacino to star in a fictional movie based on these facts about Milk, no one would believe it. The story is simply too fantastic. That is one reason why the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk merits watching -- it is American social and political history.

The other virtue of this unforgettable film is its journalistic chronicling of Milk, an intelligent well-spoken man who set a precedent in American politics. He was a consummate politician -- funny, personable, able to use the media and rally a crowd. His brief spin in the spotlight made a difference, a point that the movie underscores in the massive candelight vigil of mourners.

From the beginning of this heart-wrenching film with Dianne Feinstein`s stunned announcement that Milk and Mayor George Moscone had just been killed in City Hall, The Times of Harvey Milk moves with the speed and suspense of a mystery thriller. What forces brought about this unthinkable tragedy? Director and co-producer Robert Epstein, working closely with co-producer Richard Schmiechen, use newsreel footage and interviews with people who knew Milk to explain it.

On one side was this outspoken homosexual, age 47, the first ever elected to public office in the United States in 1977 as a member of the city`s board of supervisors. Milk stood for ``little people`` issues that lack powerful lobbies but benefit everyone -- rent control, public transportation, zoning to limit the height of buildings in the earthquake-prone city. Brash, subject to fits of temper that cowed at least one of his aides, Milk wasn`t afraid of a fight, as he proved in a televised debate with California Sen. John Briggs.

Opposing Milk and everything he stood for was Dan White, 31, a former fireman and San Francisco native. Milk`s ideas threatened White, who sought to stop a parade because he feared ``open displays of homosexuality.`` Also on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, elected from neighborhood districts rather than the city at large, White with his long sideburns and scared-rabbit manner seemed the outsider.

White resigned after Californians rejected a proposition to remove openly gay teachers and their heterosexual supporters from teaching in public schools. But White`s fury and confusion peaked when he sought to get his position back and Mayor George Moscone refused. Both Moscone and Milk were killed by White in their offices.

What gives The Times of Harvey Milk its impact are interviews with people such as Jim Elliot, a middle-aged average Joe and union leader who says frankly, ``At first I thought `Jesus Christ, what`s labor coming to, endorsing a fruit!` `` Through careful inter-cutting of Milk`s biographical evolution, his progress as a politician, and conversations with the men and women, gay and straight, whom he won over, the moviegoer gets a full understanding of his strengths. There is also a lingering sense of pity and horror about the assassination and its aftermath of justifiable rage.

As documentaries go, The Times of Harvey Milk is a pearl. Epstein and Schmiechen present a fascinating story from real life, filled with witnesses, one reprehensible villain and a hero whose actions should inspire anyone who sees this film.